Doctor Carter
by Krypton X
Summary: Tess and Cuddy are old friends. When the hospital has to let a doctor go, Tess offers a solution.
1. A Need Arises

Tess walked into a hospital lobby and smiled to herself. She looked around at the place and was amazed at how much it looked the same since her time there 5 years before. She heard a familiar voice from across the room and smirked as she rolled her eyes. She turned around and leaned against a pillar as two people, a man she didn't know and Lisa Cuddy walked out of an office. She had her voice raised to a level Tess had only heard when she was absolutely determined or was really angry. As she watched the two argue, she looked on in wonder at Cuddy; because although she sounded angry, her old friend was smugly enjoying the argument.

The bickering duo walked across the room closer to her. She listened to part of their discussion which was currently whether or not to allow the other doctor to perform a high risk procedure on a patient. She forced a serious tone as she interjected, "Well, if the patient is experiencing a fever, I think that a lung biopsy could cause more harm than good."

The man looked irritated and shouted, "But the biopsy is the only way to find the…" The man stopped and looked toward her and looked confused, "Who are you?"

Cuddy looked at her amazed, "Tess? Oh, wow! It's been five years since I saw you last!"

They hug and Tess tells her, "Yeah, I know. But I had a day layover in Jersey and decided to drop by. I just finished a project in Australia and was heading back to Washington."

The man interrupted them, both serious and mocking at the same time, "Cuddy, I would love to hear about any experimenting you may have done in the past, but I need that biopsy!"

She sighs and turns to him, "You're positive it's in the lungs?"

He looked hesitant, "No, but it's the most likely place."

She lowered her head and after a minute, she sighed, "Go ahead."

The man nods and limps away toward the OR. Tess looks concerned, "A lung biopsy for fever? That's an irregular test, isn't it?"

Cuddy nodded, "Yes it is, but the patient will probably be discharged tomorrow."

Tess raised her eyebrows, "Interesting." She changed the subject, "Well, anyway, I came to say hello; and also I wanted to leave a new number with you if you needed to reach me."

Cuddy asked, "Oh did you get a new phone?"

She shook her head, "Yes. I just had a temporary one for international calls and signed a new contract last week before coming back."

She nods, "Okay." She starts to ask a question when one of the doctors collapses nearby. They and a group of others run up and check on him. Cuddy checks his pulse, "Rapid heartbeat; could be tachycardia."

A nurse attaches an EKG monitor and announces, "V-Fib! Cardiac arrest!"

Cuddy orders, "Paddles!" They rush them in and shock him a couple times.

The nurse checks the vitals, "He's stable."

Cuddy tells them, "Get him to ICU!"

********

Tess has thrown away a coffee cup when Cuddy walks back out. Tess walks over, "Is he going to be okay?"

She sighs and shakes her head solemnly, "Yes and no. Doctor Kensington has a genetic heart defect. His heart is normal for most of his life, but it develops deformations later in life." She seems troubled, "This is the second heart attack he's had in 8 months. He's going to be fine, but I can't allow him to continue working here. If he collapses during procedures, he becomes a liability. I have to let him go." She sighs, "He loves this hospital and he is such a good doctor. It's going to be hard for the staff to pick up the slack."

Tess asks, "Wait, you're short handed? I thought they were 13 other doctors assigned here?"

She nods, "There are. However, 3 of them are employed for Doctor House. They are busy a lot with special cases. And two quit about a month ago."

Tess sighed, "So one more doctor would make that much of a difference for you?" she smirks, "Is Doctor Kensington stable enough for a flight?"

Cuddy looked unsure, "Maybe. Why?"

"I have an idea." She explained, "I know a person who just graduated Harvard Medical. She was top of her class but hasn't experienced actual hospital situations. He could…" She stopped as she though of the right word, "Show her what to expect."

Cuddy scoffed slightly, "Tess, you can't just be told what to expect."

Tess asked, "Trust me, Doctor Cuddy. This will work." Cuddy looked unsure but nodded.


	2. Orientation

Cuddy handed a file back to a nurse and looked over in annoyance as House walked into the lobby and saw her. He quickly turned to leave but she ran over to him and commented sternly, "House, you have missed 11 hours of clinic duty."

House looked uncaring as he replied sarcastically, "And you missed the memo informing you that I wasn't doing clinic duty." He looked smugly at her upset look, "Small detail."

She glared and handed him a pair of rubber gloves, "Clinic. Three hours. Go." She turned to leave.

She ignored his calling after her, "But, mom! I promised Jimmy I would take him to the arcade!"

*********

At the lobby, the front doors opened and a young blond walked in confidently. She stopped in front of the doors and glanced at her watch. She seemed satisfied and walked over to a nurse station. She pulled out an ID and spoke to the nurse, "Hello, I'm starting today at 5."

The nurse glanced at the ID and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. We've been short handed for months since Kensington was let go. Poor man, he loved this place. We really hated to see him leave."

The woman nodded in understanding and commented worried, "Must be hard to see a stranger replace someone you've known forever. I promise I won't take it personally if the people here are upset with me taking over his job."

The nurse looked at her seriously, "Oh, please honey. You may be young, but the Board doesn't let just any one join the staff here."

She looked nervous, "Well, actually, Doctor Fontana made a call to push my candidacy."

Instead of the smug expression she expected, the nurse looked impressed, "Wow. You must be good if a former Board member is recommending you. Welcome to PPTH." She handed the woman a card and a folder of paper as she commented, "This is a temporary access for the hospital until HR sends you an official one and these are some technical forms you need to read and fill out for any doctors you wish to have on your staff."

The woman looked at it surprise, "My staff? I thought this was just until the hospital found a replacement."

The nurse frowned in thought as she pulled up some data on the computer. She shook her head and showed her the screen, "Nope. You are the replacement. You have a budget for two doctors of your choosing."

The woman inhaled and looked somewhat overwhelmed. "Okay." She composed herself and asked, "I believe that I am scheduled to meet the Dean of Medicine?"

Cuddy had walked up behind her and agreed, "Yes. I just took care of another matter; I apologize for being late."

The woman shrugged it off, "Oh, Doctor Cuddy, that's unnecessary. You have an entire hospital to run; I can't penalize you for being busy!" She introduced herself, "I'm Zoë Carter."

"Lisa Cuddy." Cuddy smiled pleasantly, "Well, I appreciate that." She muttered to herself, "Finally someone understands that." She looked over the woman and looked surprised. "You're very young to be a doctor."

Zoë smiled, "Yeah, I know. According to all my professors, I took to medicine as easily as birds take to flying." She shrugged, "I think they were exaggerating."

Cuddy scoffed, "Don't be so modest. From what Tess told me, you graduated top of your class in four years. The best doctor we have didn't do that."

She inhaled and commented, "Dr. Cuddy, I am wondering why the records are indicating I have authority to form a team. I thought I would be working with the staff as equals. I don't want to cause problems with the people here who may be better qualified for such a privilege."

Cuddy replied, "Dr. Carter, I was told by Tess and the Board you were extremely reliable and an exceptional doctor. A company called GD has authorized a substantial annual fund to the hospital, a percentage of which is allocated to your salary and the salaries for two additional doctors assigned under your supervision." She smiled sincerely, "Now, from this encounter, I can tell you are very unassuming, which will give me a measure of relaxation. God knows I've wanted a doctor like you for years. From my guess, I'd say you're House's polar opposite in regards to your personality. If your medical knowledge is as good as they say, he'll be in for a surprise." She smirked, "As a matter of fact, why don't you head down and pay him a visit?"

Zoë followed Cuddy to the clinic where she instructed her to handle some patients. She worked for the next few hours, walking into the lobby after diagnosing a patient with a simple stomach ache. She was reaching for a patient's file when she jumped a foot as a wooden stick slammed down on the counter. She looked to her right and glared at the older man holding his cane over the file. She yanked the file free and walked up to him. She opened the file and read the name, "Are you Denis Reed?"

The man shook his head. Zoë closed the file and walked past the man, causing him to become confused as she called out to the room, "Denis Reed, I will see you now."

A man stood up and started forward. The man from before smirked at her evilly and asked Reed, "Do you really want to see her? I mean, she thinks she's a real doctor. Which she isn't; because a real doctor wouldn't be so young and could diagnose a patient just from the chart."

Reed hesitated and glanced at Zoë. She sighed annoyed and opened the file as the man watched playfully. She read over the charts for a minute. She looked at the man closely and exhaled. She walked to the pharmacy and ordered, "I need 150 ml of promethazine-codeine." She glanced smugly back at the man and announced, "The patient is suffering a mild throat irritation after his trip to Reno. The dry air caused his throat to lose moisture and became inflamed." The pharmacist handed her the bottle and she gave it to Reed.

Reed nodded and turned to leave. The man spoke up, "Wait. Come here, let me double check." Reed looked annoyed but stopped. The man picked up a tongue depressor and a flashlight and looked at the man's throat. His face fell and he nodded to the man. "Take that every 5 hours, once in the morning, once at night until it's gone. By then the throat will have had enough time to regain moisture."

Reed nodded and left. The man glanced at Zoë as she signed off the pharmacy call sheet and the patient file. She walked by and dropped the file into the outbox. She glanced sternly at him and eyed him carefully. He looked uncomfortable with the scrutiny and looked away. "So, you're new."

Zoë raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that?"

"Because I've never seen you around the hospital."

Zoë counters, "You only say that because you've never seen me work the clinic. Because that's where I am assigned, and Dr. Cuddy told me you rarely come to the clinic."

He looked genuinely surprised and queried, "Cuddy hired you?"

Zoë deadpanned, "What if she did?" She smirked, "If she had, does that mean that Gregory House is no longer her go-to doctor?"

He looks even more surprised, "You know who I am? Well, that gives me a huge disadvantage."

She turned away and went back to the counter and picked up another file. She opened it, "Eve Williams?"

A blonde woman with a kid stood up and walked over to House, "I believe House is my doctor." House looked somewhat worried and quickly snatched the file from Zoë.

He nodded, "She's right."

They started to leave but Zoë heard him say to her comfortingly, "Eve, good to see you again." He looked at the kid, "Timothy, how are you doing this month?"

She smiled and turned back to see Cuddy walking up to her while she looked at House as she asked surprised, "Did he just take a clinic patient?"

Zoë nodded, "Yeah. He seemed very happy to see them."

Cuddy asked, "Them?"

She nodded, "Yeah. A blonde woman and a young boy. I think he know her somehow."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow and sighed. She inclined her head, "Dr. Carter, I wanted to introduce you to House's staff. Since you'll be working closely with diagnostics, it will be good to know them."

Cuddy took her to an office with House's name on it. She opened the door and showed her in. As they entered, four people looked up in confusion. Cuddy commented, "Doctor Carter, this is Dr. House's team. You can take a few minutes and get acquainted."

Zoë nodded as Cuddy left. As the door closed, the single woman there asked her alarmed, "Are you here to replace one of us?"

She shook her head, "No. I just started today and Doctor Cuddy was showing me around. I'm apparently going to be working with House closely. So, why don't we all introduce ourselves? My name is Zoë Carter."

The men seemed unsure but a black man spoke first, "I'm Dr. Foreman."

A British man nodded in greeting, "Robert Chase."

The third man sighed impatiently, "Dr. Taub."

The woman said, "I'm Thirteen."

Zoë narrowed her eyes and asked, "Doctor Thirteen?"

She replied, "No, I go by Thirteen."

Zoë now looked skeptical, "I've read about some of House's antics. Is that one of his pet names for you?"

The woman looked uncomfortable, "Well, no. I actually came up with it…"

Zoë held up her hand and Thirteen became quiet. Zoë walked over and held up her ID badge, "Doctor Remy Hadley." She looked pleasantly at her, "Good to meet you."

Thirteen looked somewhat insulted, "Good to meet you." Zoë walked over to House's desk and looked it over. Thirteen eyed everyone in the room suspiciously.

Foreman asked her, "Dr. Carter?"

Zoë turned around and asked calmly, "Yes, Dr. Foreman?"

"I just wanted to know why you're here. If you don't mind?"

She nodded calmly, "Of course not." She leaned on House's desk and replied, "As you know, Dr. Kensington retired a few months ago. The hospital needed a doctor and I was recommended. Dr. Cuddy informed me that I would be collaborating with Doctor House. She felt I should come down and get to know the people I will be working with."

Taub asked her sarcastically, "So what did you find out about us?"

She turned to him and said evenly, "That all you have House's suspicious nature and believe everyone has to have a hidden agenda." She glanced at Thirteen, "And you seem to be very easily intimidated. I won't be bullying anyone if that's you guys are all concerned about."

Taub looked at her and commented coldly, "Then I guess we'll see you around then."

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "And I won't _be_ bullied, either. I was hired by the Board and as such, am here to stay. Seriously, I am not here to intimidate anyone, but I don't want to be the person who will cause problems. I want to work with you in a professional manner. If you don't want to do that, just let me and I will make adjustments accordingly." She smiled and excused herself, "I'll see you around."

Chase looked shocked, "Oh, my god." He looked at the others and chuckled amazed, "I think we just saw a civil version of House."

Thirteen smirked, "Definitely has his attention to detail." She stood up and walked over to the window.

Taub continued, "Without any of the verbal or mental abuse."

Foreman looked suspicous, "I'm not so sure. I think she's putting up a front. You don't try to cozy up to people you'll be working for if you don't plan to push your way through the ranks."

Thirteen had been watching Zoë and looked intrigued, "Guys, check this out." They all went over and watched as Zoë stood in the center of a group of nurses. She was smiling as she talked with the nurses. "I don't think House tried to make friends with the nursing staff when he joined the hospital."

Foreman rolled his eyes, "She probably knows someone would spy on her and is keeping the bluff going."

They watched for a couple more minutes until Zoë picked up a cell phone and a looked of excitement crossed her face. She looked apologetic to the nurses and turned to leave. As she did so, she stopped short when she noticed all four of them watching her. They all turned away instantly and returned to the seats.

******

Zoë's cell phone rang and she grew excited as she saw her dad's number come up. She excused herself from the group and turned to answer it. She stopped in alarm when she noticed all of House's team were standing and staring at her appraisingly. She eyed them as they quickly returned to their previous activities. She shook it off and opened her phone and replied happily, "Hey, dad! How are you?"

"It's okay. You know, just having to deal with another weird day in Eureka."

She rolled her eyes, "What did Fargo do this time? He hasn't turned on another missile has he?"

"No, just some algae experiments that are growing all over town and eating all the trees."

She looked thoughtful, "Well, Jo said there had been a shipment of starfish for the new aquarium last month. Starfish are voracious algae eaters; maybe they could just eat it all."

Jack sounded amazed, "That's brilliant! I'll run over to Henry and see if they think could work!" He added slyly, "Why don't you come to GD and apply? Allison would love to have to have someone as brilliant as you working Section 5."

She smirked coyly, "Good try, dad. Tess had a friend who needed help here in Jersey and I agreed. Don't worry about your little girl. She's going to be fine."

He sounded sad and proud at the same time. "I know you are. I can't believe that 5 years ago, you went to Harvard Medical. Now you're at one of the best hospitals in the country excluding Global."

She wiped a tear off her cheek, "Yeah." She commented, "And besides, I've seen GD solve medical problems this hospital will never have to deal with. SynWater; Reverse Evolution." She laughed out loud, "Not to mention you and Allison getting linked through the baby monitor! That was some funny stuff!"

Jack sounded uncomfortable, "I thought we agreed to never talk about that."

She put on a serious tone, "You're right. I promise never to mention again."

She could tell from his tone he had rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever." He grew serious, "Zoë, I want to you to know how truly proud I am of you."

Zoë jumped slightly as she felt a light jab in her back. She turned around and sighed in annoyance. Jack must have heard and he stated, "Zoë, I mean it."

House smirked at her she glared back. She spoke quickly, "No, dad, it's not you. I know you're proud of me. It's just one of the doctors here. He's a jerk."

House raised his voice, "A jerk that could make her stay here very unpleasant."

Jack scoffed, "Well, it seems that you will have your own Stark to deal with."

Zoë shot a glare at House as she replied, "Trust me on this, dad. Compared to this guy, he was an angel. I'll call you after my shift ends. Give my regards to Jo and Zane."

Jack agreed, "I will. Love you, Zoë."

She smiled despite herself, "Love you, dad."

She hung up as House mimed her mockingly, "Love you, daddy!" He smirked, "I knew I could find something to use against you."

She shot him an even glance, "What? My healthy respect for my father or the immense pride he has in knowing that his daughter is a doctor with Harvard credentials?"

His arrogant expression briefly faltered, "Harvard?" He recovered and countered, "How about the fact that he still checks up on his little girl?"

She replied evenly, "Some families like to keep in touch once in a while. He called me two months ago, and I'm sure you'll say that he doesn't love me enough to call me more often; but being the sheriff of an entire town can be time consuming."

"I'll bet when he became sheriff, he had to leave you alone in a small room with nothing but TV dinners and a pile of old VHS tapes to keep yourself busy."

Zoë began panicking dramatically, "Oh, you're right! He was a terrible role model. After all, working through my teenage years as he continually tried to connect with a rebellious young girl must have been a complete failure. It has to be seeing as though we are closer than ever and I've worked my way though Eureka High School and Harvard Medical School…"

House looked at her carefully, "Wait? Did you say Eureka?" She paused and eyed him cautiously as he asked, "Did you know a man named Nathan Stark?"

Zoë grew serious and replied softly, "Yes, I did. My father had to tell his finance when he died."

House looked troubled and was quiet for a moment. He sighed, "Maybe I'm asking the wrong person, but I could never get a straight answer about his death."

Zoë looked apologetic, "Unfortunately, you will never get one."

House nodded solemnly, "But I'm assuming…" He gestured at her.

Zoë looked down, "Yeah." She took a breath, "But I can tell you, it wasn't meaningless. His death saved the lives of a lot of people." She asked interested, "How did you know him?"

"He was one of my tutors in Med-School. He was an excellent doctor."

"He taught you most of what you know?"

House nodded, "Yeah, but he could come off a bit rough."

Zoë gave a small smile, "No kidding?"

House rolled his eyes and changed back to his usual self, "Whatever."

He began limping away, but stopped when Zoë commented, "You know that Stark and my father never got along."

House smirked, "Well, it seems that will be another thing I learned from him."

Zoë countered calmly, "Maybe. But no matter how they felt about each other, when things were on the line, they worked together pretty well."

House considered it seriously before denying, "I doubt we'll have the same dynamic."

Zoë tilted her head and sneered, "You're probably right." House nodded and left. Zoë watched him leave and looked confident as she whispered, "I guess we'll see."


	3. House Wilson

Zoë groaned as her pager went off. She reached for the alarm and sighed as she read the clock. She clicked on the lamp and sat up. She picked it up and read the message. She shook her head and walked to the bathroom. She showered quickly and got dressed. She grabbed her cell and purse and locked the door. She ran down the stairs and greeted the doorman pleasantly despite her tiredness. She hurried down the 10 blocks to the hospital and rubbed her eyes as she came into the lobby. She ran to the nurse's station and asked concerned, "How is Mr. Wells? I was paged that his heart rate started rising."

The nurse looked alarmed and pulled up the room monitor. She looked confused, "No, doctor, he is resting. We haven't had any problems here."

She narrowed her eyes puzzled as her pager went off again. She looked at it and announced annoyed, "Now's it saying that Karen Hill is vomiting blood."

The nurse looked apologetically and rolled her eyes. She picked up the phone, "I'll let Doctor Cuddy know House is crying wolf with your patients."

Zoë stopped the nurse from picking the phone up. She stated firmly, "Don't worry about it, Mary. House is just playing games. The only thing calling Cuddy will do is keep him going. Let him get it out of his system. He'll get bored and eventually stop." The nurse nods and goes back to what she was doing.

A woman scoffed behind her, "Not likely. He'll probably just change tactics." Zoë turned to see a blonde around Thirteen's age. "House never gives up; he just keeps pushing and pushing until you break."

Zoë smiles confidently, "Well, I can handle whatever he can throw at me. He can't bully me into quitting this job. This hospital is short staffed as it is."

The woman looked surprised, "You mean you plan to simply let House keep up his games and ignore it?" She smirked, "I don't know if you're extremely patient or incredibly foolish."

Zoë shrugged, "If you ask my dad, he'll say I'm stubborn." She glanced at the woman and surmised, "You must be Doctor Cameron." She held out her hand, "I'm Zoë Carter."

Cameron took the hand, "Good to meet you." She seemed impressed, "Wow. For someone working for House, you seem to be pretty balanced."

Zoë rolled her eyes, "I work for the hospital, not for House." She says with confidence, "House would be lucky if I was on his staff."

Cameron seemed a little concerned, "Maybe you're more like House than you think."

Zoë asked, "How do you mean?"

She replied, "You've got his ego. You think a lot of yourself."

Zoë shrugs it off, "My ego doesn't need stroking. I've been told by Dr. Cuddy, the hospital board members and my Harvard professors that I am one of the most talented doctors they've seen. I actually don't like all the praise." She looked at Cameron seriously, "I just want to be in a place where I can do something to help. Last year the US reported a total of 2 million people with debilitating diseases. Those people only have fifteen hundred doctors even remotely qualified to treat them. We need more and less patients."

Cameron nodded, "You definitely don't work for House. If I still worked here, I would love to see you in action."

Zoë scoffed, "Well, I have two spots for hiring qualified doctors." She smirked and threw back Cameron's earlier comment of her, "You seem pretty balanced. And Dr. Cuddy was very confident of you from what she has told me."

Cameron shook her head strongly, "I have to decline. I left for a reason. You seem like a decent person, but I don't want to be anywhere near House."

Zoë nodded in understanding, "Well, doesn't hurt to ask." She picked up a patient file and called, "Mr. Johnson! I can help you now." She looked to Cameron, "do you have any recommendations about the doctors here?"

She replied, "I can think about it and let Cuddy know." She nodded to Zoë as her patient walked up. "It was good to meet you, Dr. Carter."

******

Cuddy walked down the hall with a stack of files in her arms. She rounded a corner and stopped as House stood in front of her. He smirked as she rolled her eyes in annoyance, "House, if you're here this early, you can go to the clinic for two hours instead of lurking around corners."

He told her, "But this is more fun. I can't bother you in the clinic."

She glared, "Clinic. GO!" She moved to go around him and he stepped in front of her, causing her to drop the files she carried.

House bent down to help with them, and he noticed Amber's resume was among them. He asked, "Are you hiring new doctors?"

She glanced at him, "I was bringing them to Dr. Carter for her selection."

He hide a smile as he suggested, "I could take them to her. Since I'm being forced to go to the clinic." She hesitated briefly and House sighed, "Come on, it's on the way."

She then nodded, "Okay." She handed him the ones she had picked up and advised him, "I also found Amber's old resume; I was planning on throwing it out."

House nodded and limped down the hall to the elevator. He pushed the button for the lobby floor and smirked to himself as the door closed. He quickly scribbled a note on her resume. He hobbled down the hall to the clinic and noticed Zoë walking toward him. He held up the resumes, "Dr. Blondie, Cuddy wanted you to look through these."

She nodded and took them from him. She pushed the elevator button and called out thankfully as she walked on, "Thank you, Dr. Limpy."

He stopped and glanced at her as the door closed on her shooting him a dry glance. She walked off the elevator and glanced at the first resume. She spoke quietly to herself, "Amber Volakis." She looked over the file and looked impressed. She read a side note, "Referenced by J. Wilson." Remembering that Dr. Wilson had an office on the 3 floor, she pushed the button and waited. She walked toward his office and knocked. He opened the door and she smiled, "Good morning, Dr. Wilson."

He smiled warmly as well, "Please, you can call me Wilson."

She noted, "Okay. I will remember that, Wilson." She stated, "I am really busy and I'm sure you are too. I just got some resumes from Dr. Cuddy. I wanted to ask you about one doctor regarding her candidacy for my team." She glanced at the name again, "Her name is Amber Volakis. It mentions you for a reference."

She looked up and noted his expression had grown cold. He looked at her, "Excuse me?"

She glances down to recheck it, "Yeah, she seems to have a good medical record. Do you believe she would be interested in working for me?"


	4. Cameron

A nurse ran into Cuddy's office and inhaled quickly, "Dr. Cuddy, there's a problem in Oncology; Dr. Wilson going off on Dr. Carter."

Cuddy looked worried and quickly followed. She came in to see Wilson shouting angrily at the young doctor who was pale and simply standing as he yelled at her. She spoke up, "Wilson?! What is going on?!"

He stopped and turned to her, "She is worse than House! Not even he would bring up Amber to me!"

Cuddy looked shocked and turned to Zoë. She said sternly, "Dr. Carter, go to my office. I'll be there shortly."

The blonde nodded quickly, "Yes, ma'am." She wasted no time in leaving the office.

Cuddy closed the door and turned to Wilson and quietly asked, "What happened?"

He is still glaring, "She came in here acting polite. She brought up that she was hiring some doctors and asks me if Amber would be interested in working for her!"

Cuddy sighed. "I see." She scoffed, "I thought I had thrown her resume away."

Wilson tilted his head, "You thought you had?"

Cuddy looked up, "I had to get to the clinic. I saw Dr. Carter on the way and gave them to her. I guess I forgot to take Ambers out. I'm sorry, Wilson. I should have been more careful."

He closes his eyes and exhales. He chuckles bitterly, "Well, it seems I may have overreacted." He comments, "She's likely to be petrified of me from now on."

Cuddy smiled tensely, "Well, she's tough. I think she'll get over it pretty well." She turned to leave, "Oh. Do you have the resume? I'll take to a shredder and take care of it."

He nods and picks it off his desk. Cuddy takes it and walks towards her office. She takes a look at the resume and stops when she sees the scribbled note at the bottom. She rolls her eyes as she realizes what happened.

She walks into the office where Zoë is pacing nervously as she waits. Zoë turns as she walks in and asks quietly, "Should I just head over to my office and start packing?"

Cuddy shakes her head, "No. I explained the situation to Wilson. I should have thrown Amber's resume out before I had House give them to you."

Zoë looks irritated, "House wanted me to do this, didn't he?"

She nods as she shreds the resume, "If I were you, I'd take this as a compliment. House only tries to cause problems for people who aren't under his control. He tried for months to get Foreman to quit after I rehired him."

Zoë sighs and accepts that. She glances knowingly at Cuddy, "This may be overstepping my bounds, but you said Amber, not Dr. Volakis. And then considering Wilson's reaction, that's two people at this hospital who are close to her. Is there a story I don't know about?"

Cuddy looked saddened and noted, "It's complicated."

Zoë took that as the end of the discussion, "Okay."

Cuddy clarified, "Amber Volakis was a doctor House was screening for new fellows. After he fired her, she and Wilson began dating. They got very close."

Zoë looked understanding, "And House screwed up their relationship."

Cuddy answered, "Sort of, but it was not his fault. Last year, House got drunk one night and called Wilson's house to get picked up. He wasn't home but Amber was." She stopped briefly, "Amber went to get him and House left on a bus. She followed him to return his cane. The bus they were on was hit a garbage truck. House received a concussion and Amber suffered massive organ failure. She had taken some flu pills and OD'd on amantadine."

Zoë closed her eyes regretfully. "So, House must have rubbed it in after the fact."

She shook her head, "House actually risked his life to uncover the truth. They had a falling out afterward, but eventually they moved past it and became friends again." She sighed, "The friendship is going to take another hit when I come clean to Wilson."

Zoë asked quickly, "Is Wilson a good friend of House?"

"More like his only friend."

Zoë objected, "You shouldn't tell him. I don't think you should destroy the only stable relationship House has. As bad as he is now, taking that from him could let out a monster no one could deal with. With them, they're like a trainer and a lion. You provoke the trainer; you lose control of the animal."

Cuddy smirked at her comparison, "Very imaginative." She grew serious, "So you want to let Wilson be heated at you to keep the animal caged?"

Zoë shrugged, "It's a necessity. He needs a controller."

Cuddy sighed, "I hate to admit it, but you may have a point. Wilson believes that this was a clerical error so he'll probably forget about the whole incident in a few days. I'll talk to House…"

Zoë objects, "Dr. Cuddy, don't bother. House wants to be scolded by someone. It gives him more reason to keep going. It's probably part of his game to keep himself occupied. I'll ignore his tricks and eventually, he'll lose the interest to keep playing."

Cuddy looks skeptical, "You really believe that will work?"

"If you run into an angry dog, you provoke it by trying to run. You don't show fear."

Cuddy states seriously, "Zoë, sometimes the dog will attack anyway."

Zoë looks dead serious, "Then the rules will change, and it'll a new game. He'll see I take care of myself."

Cuddy swallows and unconsciously shivers. She sighs, "Well, I have to say, I've been angry with House more than once, but I've never been intimidated by him. Something tells me you may be a different story."

"I know when to yield, House doesn't. I won't cause any unneeded problems."

She nods, "Well, I guess you can go. And take a look over some of the resumes. You need to hire two doctors."

Zoë picks up the files and leaves the office. She is on her way to the clinic when Cameron speaks up behind her, "I don't know if you're brave or foolish."

Zoë smirks, "Here to see if your little ruse worked?"

Cameron looks confused, "What?"

Zoë turns to her, "I saw you talking to Wilson when I was on the way to meet him." She smiled impressed, "You must have seen House give me the resume. You stopped by to warn Wilson and perform a test for me.

She looked a little bewildered, "You knew this was a setup and you played along?"

She is a little uneasy, "Well, I don't know the whole relationship Wilson had with Dr. Volakis, but I knew I was in store for an initiation."

Cameron stated, "You can call her Amber."

Zoë denied, "No, I can't."

Cameron looked at her, "Why not?"

Zoë replied, "She wasn't my friend. I don't have the right to be informal when I didn't know her."

Cameron smiled pleasantly, "Well, I never thought of that. That makes sense."

Zoë glanced down at the resumes and told her, "Well, I still to find one more doctor to hire. Did you want to help me out, Dr. Cameron?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Dr. Carter, I don't work at this hospital. I'm only visiting."

Zoë now looked at her seriously, "Look, I know that you had a good reason for leaving; I do. But as your test showed, I still am going to have problems here. You have worked with House for years; you know the ups and downs. I could use an ally here and you're clearly a caring doctor. I could really use your expertise."

Cameron looked tempted, "You're very good at baiting people, I see." She sighed, "I don't want to deal with House on a daily basis, and Chase will be a distraction for me."

Zoë looked self-assured, "I'll watch your back and you'll watch mine. I can keep you level headed around Chase, trust me."

Cameron thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I accept. Is there some form I need to fill out?"

Zoë handed her a preprinted application with her information already filled in. "I just need you to verify any data and sign on the dotted line."

Cameron scoffed amused, "You're pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?" She glanced over the form and stopped at one area. "There must be a mistake here; I think this shows your salary not mine."

Zoë glanced at it and shook her head, "There's no mistake." She showed Cameron another paper, "This is my annual salary. You saw it correctly."

Cameron's eyed widened in disbelief, "That's more than Lisa makes in 5 years!"

Zoë looks apologetic, "Sorry, I forgot you didn't know. PPTH received a second funding organization. Their annual budget has increased by 57 percent last month."

Cameron looked stunned, "Who is funding it now?"

"Global Dynamics."

Cameron looked at her, "I though that company was a Military conglomerate."

Zoë clarified, "They're a pretty versatile company."

Cameron narrowed her eyes, "Is that how you got this job so fast?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Letters of recommendation from Henry, Ally and Tess and half of the professors at Harvard pretty much got me shoved headfirst through the door." She seemed uncomfortable with the recall, "I don't mean to sound rude, but I had wanted to earn my place, not have it handed to me on a silver platter. I didn't want any favors just because I'm friends with influential people. I feel like it's not really mine this way."

Cameron nods, "Don't worry. I won't treat you differently, I promise. And I'm pretty sure neither will House." She changed the subject, "So, when can I start?"


End file.
